Radiocarbon Dating and Dietary Stable Isotope Analysis of Kwaday Dän Ts'inchí

2007 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 719-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Richards ◽  
Sheila Greer ◽  
Lorna T. Corr ◽  
Owen Beattie ◽  
Alexander Mackie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Contact Period ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Ams Dating ◽  
The Individual

We report here on the results of AMS dating and isotopic analysis of the frozen human remains named Kwaday Dän Ts'inchí and associated materials recovered from a glacier located in Northwest British Columbia, Canada in 1999. The isotopic analysis of bone collagen (bulk and single amino acids) from the individual indicates a strongly marine diet, which was unexpected given the location of this find, more than 100 km inland eroding out of a high elevation glacier; however, bulk hair and bone cholesterol isotopic values indicate a shift in diet to include more terrestrial foods in the year before death. The radiocarbon dating is not straightforward, as there are difficulties in determining the appropriate marine correction for the human remains, and the spread of dates on the associated artifacts clearly indicates that this was not a single use site. By combining the most recent date on a robe worn by Kwaday Dän Ts'inchi with direct bone collagen dates we conclude that the individual likely dates to between cal A.D. 1670 to 1850, which is in the pre-(or early) European contact period for this region.

Problems in Radiocarbon Dating Human Remains from Arid Coastal Areas: An Example from the Cape Region of Baja California

1997 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Eldon Molto ◽  
Joe D. Stewart ◽  
Paula J. Reimer
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of California ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Baja California ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Carbon Yield ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
European Contact ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean

Three AMS radiocarbon dates on bone collagen from Las Palmas culture human skeletons from the cape region of Baja California are analyzed. Carbon derived from both terrestrial and marine sources necessitates correcting the radiocarbon ages for reservoir effects. Complicating this, however, are (a) the uncertain percentage of carbon of marine origin in the samples and (b) the convergence of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California, which differ markedly in reservoir values. Computer program CALIB 3.0.3c is used to correct and calibrate the conventional radiocarbon dates in a simulation using varied values for marine carbon and reservoir effects for each sample. This produces substantial variance in the results and, therefore, difficulties for chronological interpretation. For example, reasonable input values for dR and percent marine carbon yield dates that overlap the first European contact (A.D. 1533), despite the absence of historic documentation of the Las Palmas mortuary complex. Further research on reservoir effects and paleodiet is needed in order to interpret radiocarbon determinations on cape region human remains. Moreover, our findings have serious implications for the proper application of radiocarbon dating to samples from other regions subject to reservoir effects.

Analysis of the Context and Contents of an Ulua-Style Marble Vase from the Palmarejo Valley, Honduras

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Christian Wells ◽  
Karla L. Davis-Salazar ◽  
José E. Moreno-Cortes ◽  
Glenn S. L. Stuart ◽  
Anna C. Novotny
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Residential Group ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Political Economic

Ulúa-style marble vases played important social, political, economic, and religious roles in southern Mesoamerica during the seventh through eleventh centuries A.D. However, most such vessels known to archaeologists are part of looted collections or else were unearthed before the advent of modern archaeological practices. As a result, little is known about the context, use, and chronology of these objects. Recent investigations at the site of Palos Blancos in northwest Honduras discovered an Ulúa-style marble vase in an undisturbed mortuary context. Excavation of the burial context, along with bioarchaeological and stable isotope analysis of the human remains, suggests that the vase was placed as an offering, possibly to an ancestor of the residential group. Phosphate and pollen studies indicate that the vase once held a corn-based beverage . Radiocarbon dating of four charcoal samples from immediately below and adjacent to the vase yielded a range of dates from the beginning of the Late Classic period, ca.A.D. 600-800. Through analyses of the context and contents of the vase, this research contributes to a more holistic understanding of the use and meaning of Ulúa-style marble vases in southern Mesoamerica.

scholarly journals Regional Variation in the Pattern of Maize Adoption and Use in Florida and Georgia

1998 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale L. Hutchinson ◽  
Clark Spencer Larsen ◽  
Margaret J. Schoeninger ◽  
Lynette Norr
Keyword(s):  
Eleventh Century ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Contact Period ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Spanish Missions ◽  
Spanish Florida ◽  
Mission Period ◽  
Adaptive Shifts

Dietary reconstruction using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes from archaeological human bone samples from coastal Georgia and northern and Gulf Coast Florida dating between 400 B.C. and A.D. 1700 serves to illustrate the complexity of the agricultural transition in that region. Isotope analysis of 185 collagen samples drawn from early prehistoric, late prehistoric, and contact-period mortuary sites encompasses two major adaptive shifts in the region, namely the adoption of maize agriculture in late prehistory and the increased emphasis on maize during the mission period. Prior to European contact—and especially before the establishment of Spanish missions among the Guale, Yamasee, Timucua, and Apalachee tribal groups—diet was strongly influenced by local environmental factors. Before contact, coastal and inland populations had different patterns of food consumption, as did populations living in Georgia and Florida. Coastal populations consumed more marine and less terrestrial foods than inland populations. In general, maize was adopted during the eleventh century A.D. by virtually all Georgia populations. However, with the exception of the Lake Jackson site, a major Mississippian center in northern Florida, Florida populations show little use of maize before contact. Following European contact, maize became wide-spread, regardless of location or habitat within the broad region of Spanish Florida. Missionization appears to have been an important factor in the convergence of native diets toward agriculture and away from foraging. This increased emphasis on maize contributed to a decline in quality of life for native populations.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dating, Stable Isotope Analysis, and Diet-Derived Offsets in 14C Ages from the Klin-Yar Site, Russian North Caucasus

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 653-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Higham ◽  
Rebecca Warren ◽  
Andrej Belinskij ◽  
Heinrich Härke ◽  
Rachel Wood
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Nitrogen Isotopes ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Variable Nature ◽  
Russian North ◽  
Ams Dating

The influence of geothermally derived carbon on the radiocarbon dating of human bone from archaeological sites is poorly understood and has rarely been rigorously examined. This study identifies a previously unknown reservoir effect at the archaeological site of Klin-Yar in the Russian North Caucasus. AMS-dated human bones yielded results that were older than expected when compared with dates of coins found in the same grave contexts. We investigated the reasons for this offset by AMS dating modern plant, fish, and water samples to examine the source of the old carbon. We identified a potential source in geothermally derived riverine and spring water, with an apparent age of several thousand years, and hypothesize that carbon from here is being transferred through the food chain to humans. If humans consume resources from the local rivers, such as fish, then they ought to be affected by this reservoir offset. An extensive analysis of carbon and nitrogen isotopes of human and animal bone showed evidence for a mixed diet that may be masking the amount of freshwater-derived protein being consumed. Due to the highly variable nature of the 14C offset (0 to ∼350 yr), no suitable average correction factor is applicable to correct for the human dates at the site. A 14C chronology based on dates obtained from terrestrial ungulate bones, which we subsequently obtained, is instead a more reliable indicator of age.

scholarly journals Light Stable Isotope Analysis of Diet in Corded Ware Culture Communities: Święte, Jarosław District, South-Eastern Poland

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Werens ◽  
Anita Szczepanek ◽  
Paweł Jarosz
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
Animal Protein ◽  
Protein Component ◽  
Human Bone ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
C3 Plant ◽  
South Eastern

Abstract The presented study was based on isotopic analysis of δ13C and δ15N in human bone collagen samples from graves of the Corded Ware culture in Święte, south-east Poland. Isotopic values demonstrate a relatively narrow variation, ranging from -20.4‰ to -19.8‰ and 10.6‰ to 12.0‰ for δ13C and δ15N values, respectively. The diet was likely C3 plant-based with a substantial animal protein component, including predominantly terrestrial and possibly riverine resources.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dating of Individual Amino Acids from Archaeological Bone Collagen

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 620-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
James S O McCullagh ◽  
Anat Marom ◽  
Robert E M Hedges
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Sample Pretreatment ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Small Samples ◽  
Successful Isolation ◽  
Soil Components ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Quaternary Paleoecology

Since the development of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for radiocarbon dating in the late 1970s, its ability to date small samples of bone has been of huge importance in archaeology and Quaternary paleoecology. The conventional approach to sample preparation has been to extract and gelatinize protein, which is then combusted and graphitized for analysis. However, this “bulk protein” can contain a heterogeneous mixture of non-collagenous molecules, including humic acids and other soil components that may be of a different age than the bone and therefore affect the accuracy of its 14C date. Sample pretreatment methods have been an important area of development in recent years but still show inadequacies for the dating of severely contaminated bone. The idea of isolating and dating individual compounds such as single amino acids, to improve dating accuracy, has been discussed in the literature since the 1960s. Hydroxyproline, for example, makes up over 10% of bone collagen but is extremely rare in most other animal proteins, increasing the chances of its presence being endogenous to the individual being dated. Its successful isolation has therefore been considered a potential “gold standard” for dating archaeological bone; however, extracting and suitably purifying single amino acids from bone has proved a challenging task.

Bone collagen stable isotope analysis of a Bronze Age site of Liushugou and its implication for subsistence strategy in arid northwest China

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 095968362097025
Author(s):  
Weimiao Dong ◽  
Cheng-Bang An ◽  
Yongqiang Wang ◽  
Wanglin Hu ◽  
Jie Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Subsistence Strategy ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Eastern Tianshan ◽  
Carbon Isotopic

Several studies have revealed the subsistence strategies of Bronze Age people along Eastern Tianshan Mountains. However, all the previously revolved sites were permanent settlements. How people survived in arid harsh mountainous environment facing source scarcity during Bronze Age in the inner Asia is far beyond clear. This study focuses on bone carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic analysis of both human and faunal assemblage exhumed from Liushugou site, integrated with marcobotanical result and radiocarbon data to reveal human diets and subsistence strategy of this Bronze Age community. Stable carbon isotopic analysis of human bones (−19.1‰ to −17.2‰, −18.1 ± 0.4‰, n = 46) and macrobotanical results (barley) consistently indicating a nearly pure C3 based plants food intake. High δ15N values of the majority people (12.4‰ to 15.1‰, 13.4 ± 0.5‰, n = 44) point to heavy animal protein consumption. No detectable isotopic composition was observed between omnivores (boar, −19.0‰ and −17.5‰, 8.2‰ and 8.7‰, n = 2) and large number of herbivores (−20.0‰ to −9.7‰, −18 ± 1.7‰; 5.5‰ to 13.4‰, 8.4 ± 1.7‰; n = 56). Compared to those sites along Eastern Tianshan Mts. whose diets included millets/barley/wheat, humans at Liushugou site barely consumed millets during their occupation (3500–2900 cal BP). The diverse subsistence strategies of human populations demonstrate the active adaptations to different environment along Eastern Tianshan Mts. during Bronze Age.

scholarly journals Difference in Death? A Lost Neolithic Inhumation Cemetery with Britain’s Earliest Case of Rickets, at Balevullin, Western Scotland

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 199-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Armit ◽  
Fiona Shapland ◽  
Janet Montgomery ◽  
Julia Beaumont
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Identification ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Uk

Recent radiocarbon dating of a skeleton from Balevullin, Tiree, excavated in the early twentieth century, demonstrates that it dates to the Neolithic period, rather than the Iron Age as originally expected. Osteological examination suggests that the individual was a young adult woman, exhibiting osteological deformities consistent with vitamin D deficiency, most likely deriving from childhood rickets; an exceptionally early identification of the disease in the UK with potentially significant social implications. Isotopic analysis supports the osteological evidence for physiological stress in childhood and further suggests that the woman was most probably local to the islands. Analysis of the surviving written archive reveals that the surviving skeleton was one of several originally recovered from the site, making Balevullin an exceptionally rare example of a British Neolithic inhumation cemetery.

scholarly journals Food for Thought: Re-Assessing Mesolithic Diets in the Iron Gates

Radiocarbon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Bonsall ◽  
Gordon Cook ◽  
Catriona Pickard ◽  
Kathleen McSweeney ◽  
Kerry Sayle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
Human Bone ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Stable Isotope Ratios ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
Isotope Data ◽  
Stable Isotope Data

Stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in human bone collagen are used routinely to aid in the reconstruction of ancient diets. Isotopic analysis of human remains from sites in the Iron Gates section of the Lower Danube Valley has led to conflicting interpretations of Mesolithic diets in this key region of southeast Europe. One view (Bonsall et al. 1997, 2004) is that diets were based mainly on riverine resources throughout the Mesolithic. A competing hypothesis (Nehlich et al. 2010) argues that Mesolithic diets were more varied with at least one Early Mesolithic site showing an emphasis on terrestrial resources, and riverine resources only becoming dominant in the Later Mesolithic. The present article revisits this issue, discussing the stable isotope data in relation to archaeozoological and radiocarbon evidence.

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